KYIV - Ukraine said Russia fired more than 100 missiles and nearly as many drones at cities across the country on Monday in a massive attack against power infrastructure that caused blackouts and left at least three people dead.
The energy sector has sustained significant damage, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a post on the X social media platform, formerly Twitter, calling the strike one of the largest since the Kremlin's invasion of his country began more than two years ago.
Russia has been stepping up efforts to knock out Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, including power, heating and water supplies, before the winter season. The latest attack comes as Kyiv continues its incursion in the Kursk region of Russia, which caught Moscow off guard and has prompted tens of thousands of residents to flee their homes.
United States President Joe Biden, in a statement on Monday evening, condemned "in the strongest possible terms, Russia's continued war against Ukraine and its efforts to plunge the Ukrainian people into darkness." Biden said that the US was “surging energy equipment to Ukraine to repair its systems.”
Russia's defence ministry said on Monday it had targeted gas compressor stations in western Ukraine as well as electric substations and air missile storages across the country.
The attacks affected 15 of Ukraine's 27 regions, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a post on X, including the capital of Kyiv and the western Lviv region near the border with Poland. The capital’s hydro-power plant was among the targets. Emergency power and water supply cuts were imposed in Kyiv.
Residents collect things in their destroyed building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Tuesday. (Photo: Reuters)
The barrage prompted Zelenskiy to again call on Ukraine's western allies to remove limits on the use of long-range weapons to hit military targets inside Russia and deliver more air defences and missiles.
"Our defenders cannot be restricted in their weapons when Russia deploys its entire arsenal, including 'Shaheds' and ballistic missiles from North Korea," he said in the post. "America, Britain, France, and our other partners have the power to help us stop this terror."
One of the Russian drones entered Polish airspace early on Monday and disappeared from radar around 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) deep into its territory. A search operation was on to find the object.
Polish and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) jets were scrambled to safeguard the country’s airspace, the air force said on X, describing the attack as the most intense affecting Western Ukraine since July 8.
Lviv's regional governor, Maksym Kozytskyi, warned missiles were approaching Stryi where gas transmission systems and storage infrastructure is located. An air raid alert, which started after midnight, was continued in about half of Ukraine after a brief intermission.
The northwestern city of Lutsk, which has rarely been a target of attacks, was also affected, and a residential house was damaged, local mayor Ihor Polishchuk said, according to Suspilne broadcaster. At least three people were killed in the attack, according to local governments.
"The desire to destroy our energy will cost the Russians dearly," Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskiy’s office, said on Telegram Monday.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, during an interview at the Presidential Office Building in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 31, 2024. (Photo: Bloomberg)
Several districts in Kyiv remained without power and water supply amid the attack due to the "situation in the country's energy system," the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said on Telegram.
Kozytskyi also said that the power supply was interrupted in Lviv region.
Ukraine's grid operator imposed urgent power cuts, the country's energy minister, German Galushchenko, said on Facebook. "The situation is difficult, and consequences of the attack are being assessed."
The Russian Defence Ministry said 20 Ukrainian drones attacked targets overnight in several central regions of Russia. Two multi-storey apartment buildings in the cities of Saratov and Engels were hit during the strike, according to Saratov regional Governor Roman Busargin. Several people were injured, he said.
The energy sector has sustained significant damage, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a post on the X social media platform, formerly Twitter, calling the strike one of the largest since the Kremlin's invasion of his country began more than two years ago.
Russia has been stepping up efforts to knock out Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, including power, heating and water supplies, before the winter season. The latest attack comes as Kyiv continues its incursion in the Kursk region of Russia, which caught Moscow off guard and has prompted tens of thousands of residents to flee their homes.
United States President Joe Biden, in a statement on Monday evening, condemned "in the strongest possible terms, Russia's continued war against Ukraine and its efforts to plunge the Ukrainian people into darkness." Biden said that the US was “surging energy equipment to Ukraine to repair its systems.”
Russia's defence ministry said on Monday it had targeted gas compressor stations in western Ukraine as well as electric substations and air missile storages across the country.
The attacks affected 15 of Ukraine's 27 regions, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a post on X, including the capital of Kyiv and the western Lviv region near the border with Poland. The capital’s hydro-power plant was among the targets. Emergency power and water supply cuts were imposed in Kyiv.
Residents collect things in their destroyed building hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Tuesday. (Photo: Reuters)
The barrage prompted Zelenskiy to again call on Ukraine's western allies to remove limits on the use of long-range weapons to hit military targets inside Russia and deliver more air defences and missiles.
"Our defenders cannot be restricted in their weapons when Russia deploys its entire arsenal, including 'Shaheds' and ballistic missiles from North Korea," he said in the post. "America, Britain, France, and our other partners have the power to help us stop this terror."
One of the Russian drones entered Polish airspace early on Monday and disappeared from radar around 25 kilometres (15.5 miles) deep into its territory. A search operation was on to find the object.
Polish and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) jets were scrambled to safeguard the country’s airspace, the air force said on X, describing the attack as the most intense affecting Western Ukraine since July 8.
Lviv's regional governor, Maksym Kozytskyi, warned missiles were approaching Stryi where gas transmission systems and storage infrastructure is located. An air raid alert, which started after midnight, was continued in about half of Ukraine after a brief intermission.
The northwestern city of Lutsk, which has rarely been a target of attacks, was also affected, and a residential house was damaged, local mayor Ihor Polishchuk said, according to Suspilne broadcaster. At least three people were killed in the attack, according to local governments.
"The desire to destroy our energy will cost the Russians dearly," Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskiy’s office, said on Telegram Monday.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, during an interview at the Presidential Office Building in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 31, 2024. (Photo: Bloomberg)
Several districts in Kyiv remained without power and water supply amid the attack due to the "situation in the country's energy system," the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said on Telegram.
Kozytskyi also said that the power supply was interrupted in Lviv region.
Ukraine's grid operator imposed urgent power cuts, the country's energy minister, German Galushchenko, said on Facebook. "The situation is difficult, and consequences of the attack are being assessed."
The Russian Defence Ministry said 20 Ukrainian drones attacked targets overnight in several central regions of Russia. Two multi-storey apartment buildings in the cities of Saratov and Engels were hit during the strike, according to Saratov regional Governor Roman Busargin. Several people were injured, he said.
